Moving on, the past is in the past
by Dolly-999
Summary: Noah, Dani, Hayley and Scott. 30th of September 2004, Noah Lawson fell to his dead.......Or did he? please read and review.
1. A different history

_**Moving on, the past is in the past**_

_Hayley, Scott, Dani and Noah_

Ok now Hayley, Scott and Dani won't come in for another chapter or two so just bare with me it may take a few chapters to understand what the story is about. The first chapter is fairly short.

_Chapter number 1. A different History_

_30th of September 2004, Noah Lawson fell to his dead..._

_Or did he?_

_What didn't you see that could of changed everything?_

_What happened that could of made you think differently?_

_Who was working from the inside? _

_What did they do?_

_And why did they do it?_

_31st of September 2004, what you didn't see..._

The room was fairly dark and the only light that could bee see was the light that shone through the small rectangular pieces of glass in the double doors that lead to a long corridor like in a hospital. Inside the room was a girl with blue eyes and light brown curly hair that was almost frizzy, she looked down at a body that was laying in an open coffin, he lay so still and quiet, a bullet wound in his arm that had just been cleaned up, he was going to recover, not that his family and friends needed to know, or were going to find out. Next to him was another coffin with a lid on it the name on the top read Noah Lawson, but no body lay inside, not that anyone would notice.

"You're going to regret the day you ever tried to hurt my Sarah" the girl spoke, "and I can promise you your not going to be put out of your mystery by having all the pain go away, your going to live and suffer the consequences" she told him sitting down next to his open coffin deciding how to get him out of here unnoticed.

About five minutes later Noah began to wake up, he saw the box he was lying in and used the edges to help himself sit up, looking around the room his gaze came upon a girl with a crow bar heading towards him quickly hitting his head making everything begin to black out again, his head fell back wards hitting hard against the bottom of the coffin.

Carelessly The girl threw the crow bar behind her hitting a black curtain revealing the back door of the place. "Perfect" she smiled to herself grabbing Noah and carrying him over her shoulders out the back door before anyone had the chance to come and see what the noise had been.

_Please tell me what you think._


	2. Justice and revenge are very harsh

_Ok so I know this hasn't been updated in a while, I'm sorry about that, I'll try and keep this fic going, but I can't promise regular updates, I can only promise I'll try._

_Chapter number 2. Justice and revenge are very harsh things._

As Noah began to slowly awake when the pain he was in suddenly hit him as his surroundings slowly came back to his vision, he'd been unconscious for a week.

His head was throbbing with pain, on his fore head was a few large purple and blue bruises, his ankles felt tense from a rope tied around them, his muscles ached and his left cheek was covered in blood from being dragged along the ground into the shed he was locked in.

The shed was about three meters wide by about four meters long, it's walls were made of old rusty tin, they were probably once new and shinny but now it looked like it had been hit by a plague, if his feet weren't tied up to a metal loop that was drilled into the floor he could probably break his way out of this place just by hitting the wall. The floor was cold hard concrete with a small amount of straw scattered on it, as he looked around more he began to notice some things stashed in the corner furthest away from him, there was a bag of what looked like fertilizer and a container of fuel stacked on top of a large card boar box. He looked down at his feet, the rope around them was tied pretty well fastened holding them together so tight that if it were any tighter it could cut off his blood circulation. Thinking more about his circumstances he gave one large tug at his feet trying to pull them apart, but had no luck, instead his already aching muscles ached even more making him stop and rest himself. He began wondering what he'd ever done to deserve this, the last thing he could remember was waking up in a dark room and being knocked out by a girl who looked around his age.

His thoughts were interrupted when he heard a creeping sound, he looked up to see the door open and a set of black boots standing in front of his head, he slowly moved his eyes up to see who it was, she had dark denim jeans on, a black tank top, blue eyes, and light Blondy brown hair that curled out of control. She staired at him for a moment longer and then gave him a fake twisted smile, "nice of you to join me, I was wondering when you were going to give me some company".

"Where am I?" Noah asked weakly struggling to get the words out.

The girl just sneered at him, shaking her head. "I thought you would of figured it out already, but looks like your dumber than I thought. Your in a shed in the middle of no where". Noah didn't say anything back, he couldn't he had to save his energy, he'd become weak. "Thought you might be hungry" the girl continued, placing a plate on the floor in front of him with bread on it and a glass of water. She then untied his hands and he pushed himself up so that he was no longer lying on his stomach.

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"Is anyone hungry?" Dani asked coming into the lounge room, her eyes were watery, but she tried to sound strong for Hayley's sake who was sitting on the couch stairing of a photo of her and Noah on their wedding day.

"No thanks, I'm just going for a walk" Hayley replied softly, getting up and placing the photo on the coffee table.

"I am" Scott called out as he came down the stairs right as Hayley closed the door. They both looked in the direction of the door as it slammed.

Dani sighed, "What am I supposed to do Scott?"

"Just be there for her, she'll come to you when she realizes you just want to help" Scott told her giving her a hug and holding her close for comfort, letting her cry into his shirt like she'd done many times in the last week.

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Back in the old rusty shed, Noah had just finished eating, he felt a little better, and he was definitely ready to ask more questions. "Why are you keeping me here?"

"To get revenge" she started, "to get justice" she explained with a quiver of danger in her voice, getting up from where she sat on the floor with her back against the wall, walking over to Noah slowly.

"For what?"

"For what you and your friends did to my Sarah" she told him with a smirk plastered on her face, getting the rope back out to tie his hands back behind his back as she continued to talk, "I'm going to finish what she started, I'm going to finish what's right. Summer bay's going to regret the day they see the start of Eve Jacobson, they'll never know what's hit them" she smiled evilly, letting out a chuckle as she pushed Noah face first back onto the floor, leaving the room and locking the door again. After she left Noah tried to help himself back up as he coughed from the dust mixed in with the straw on the hard floor.

_Please review._


	3. 2005

Hey everyone, I finally got around to writing more of this, I know it's been a while since I updated, and I'm sorry for that, but hopefully I'll have more time on my hands soon. Ok since it's been a while I'll refresh your memories, Zoe (Eve) captured Noah and locked him in a shed in the bush, everyone thinks Noah is dead but he's not really cause Zoe switched Noah's body with some one else's.

Anyway here's the next chapter, I hope you enjoy it.

_Chapter number 3. 2005_

_(Note: it's June 2005, Dani left the bay and Hayley and Scott got together the way they did on the show. The whole Zoe story line on the show is already over and there was never any mix up over the parentage of Hayley's baby)._

A very lost Dani Sutherland wandered her way down the chaotic city streets of Sydney, this was her life, her fame, her future, well not that she liked it, but it was a living. There used to be a time when she'd smile when she woke up, thinking of what the day would bring her, but now waking up was a burden, her days were spent in an office building, the life of a journalist hadn't been quite as spectacular as she had dreamed and hoped for. Her life had been like this since she first came hear six months ago, she'd hoped that she would grow to love it here, but nothing had changed, if anything it had gotten worse. These days instead of waking up to the sound of a peacefully quiet beach side town, she wake up to the sounds of the busy early morning streets that wafted up to her apartment on the fifteenth floor of one of many tall towering buildings that clouded the city.

Soon she would be marrying a man whom she cared for no more than a friend; Staford. Their love was only a one way street, he loved her, and that love blinded him from the truth that she didn't love him the same way, why she'd said yes to him she still didn't know the answer to, but now she was in too deep, and she couldn't leave without leaving everything behind, everything she'd worked for, everything she hated, everything she had.

"You want a lift?" a voice called out from the sited of the road, Dani turned around to see Staford hopping out of his car, "we couldn't possible let such a beautiful girl wanter around the streets" he smiled taking her hand in his.

"Ok" Dani sighed, letting him pull her gently in the direction of his car.

"You ok?"

"Yeah, why?"

"You just don't seem too happy that's all".

"I've just had a long day at work" she told him, faking a content smile.

"I know, tell me about it, I had paperwork up to my neck" he exclaimed, opening the passengers door of the car for Dani and helping her in and then made his way around the front of the car and hopped in the drivers seat.

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Noah pulled himself out of the hole in the side of the shed that he'd dough in the last week of being left alone without a visit from Zoe, they'd probably caught her by now, she would of come to see him if she hadn't. Helplessly he crawled along the ground, and fell on his chest from exhaustion, he was hungry, he wanted to go home, he didn't think he'd survive, but finding the courage after resting for a moment, he lifted himself back onto his feet, using the support of the tree next to him.

"Hello?" He tried to yell, "an-anyone, he-ere?"

He stumbled along a dirt path, no knowing how long he'd been walking for, up ahead he could see a clearing, it had green grass and park seats. Finding the strength, he made his way to sit down on one of them, puffing in an attempt to catch up on his breath, he looked around him and that's when he realized he wasn't in the middle of nowhere anymore, there were roads, houses, and even street lights.

His heart was overjoyed, he was going to get help, he was going to live, he would find home.

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"Stafy" Dani began as she looked out her window. "About the wedding".

"Yeah were going to have to figure out a date for it soon" Stafford jumped in as he stopped at the traffic lights waiting for them to go green again.

Dani closed her eyes for a minute, the truth was she'd actually plucked up the courage to tell him that she wasn't ready, but now she wasn't really sure if it was the right time to bring up the topic, "Yeah we are" she answered, trying to sound happier than she looked, right now even the spoilt brat admiring her newly polished nails in the passengers seat of the sports car next to them looked happier than she did.

"Oh and I heard from mum today too, she said that she's going to be overseas in September, so I guess it can't be then" Staford explained.

"Oh well I'm sure we can work around it then" She answered turning to face him and put on a fake smile.

"Yeah" he sighed just as the traffic lights went green. "What about some time in October then? That'd give us plenty of time to organize everything before then without as much stress".

By now Dani just needed to get out, she had to tell him before he got to far into everything, but she couldn't tell him now, no she couldn't, it would cause a lot of tension tonight with his parents having dinner with them at Staford's place, she'd break the news to him tomorrow, well... maybe the day after... no, oh gosh when are you jolly well going to do it girl? Her conscious asked starting to eat at her which right then seemed worst than her unwanted fiancée.

"Or maybe not October then" Staford backed down as he saw that stressed look on Dani's face, but still she didn't answer. "Dan? You ok?"

"What?" she asked snapping out of her thoughts.

"I was saying what about October?"

"What about it?" she asked seeming confused.

"For the wedding".

"Oh yeah of course, sounds good" she answered putting on a smile, "Look I might walk home, I need the fresh air" she told him.

"You sure?"

"Yeah, it's not that far, just pull over here".

"Ok but promise me you'll be careful, ok?"

"Ok I promise" she told him as he parked the car at the side of the road.

"Love you" Staford called out to her before she closed the door.

"Love you too" she lied before turning to walk down the street.

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"Scott" Hayley called out through the house that they'd just moved into on the outskirts of Sumer bay right next to Yabbie creek.

"Yeah, I'm in the lounge room" he called back.

"Guess what" she said excitedly as she reached the room in the front of the house.

"What?" he asked looking up from where he was setting up the TV in the corner.

"It's kicking" she told him reaching for his hand and placing it on the center of her stomach.

"Wow that's amazing" he smiled as he felt the little kicks of his unborn child.

"I know tell me about it, he's definitely going to be a little soccer player isn't he?"

"He?" Scott looked up in confusion.

"Oops I did it again, I keep thinking it's a boy for some reason"

"Well maybe it is then, they always say a mother knows her children best" Scott commented as he stood up and guided Hayley to the couch where he sat next to her and placed his arms around her.

"Yeah well whether it's a boy or a girl I know I'm going to love this kid to death" she smiled.

"Me too".

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Dani walked slowly along the path looking down at her feet. She wanted to just go home to her apartment and say she wasn't feeling too good, but she'd already lied to Staford enough for one day. Lately each day that went by seemed to be filled with more lies than the day before, it was starting to worry her too, if she just told him that she didn't really love him the way he loved her then things would be so much easier. But the later she left it, the harder it was to stop lying, it was like a virus that took over her and the lies just kept flowing out of her mouth, only making Staford more and more in love with her.

As she got further along she heard a voice that grabbed her attention.

"Somebody help" came the weak voice from a park bench that was in view. Slowly and curiously Dani made her way across the park to where the sound was coming from, she knew she shouldn't be doing this, for all she knew it could have been a man with a gun trying to attract the attention of an innocent person out alone, but for some reason she didn't feel fear.

"Somebody help me" the voice cried again, this time seeming weaker than it had been thirty seconds ago.

"Are you ok?" Dani asked as she came around to the other side of the bench where a man was lying on the seat.

"Not really" the man answered trying to sit up.

Dani imediently went to help him... that's when she looked at his face and realized who he was, "You can't be who I think you are".

"Dani?" the man asked in shock.

"Noah? But... you were dead".

_Author note: Please review, I'll do my best to write more as soon as I've got 2 reviews._


	4. Back from the dead

Hey guys, thanks for the reviews, It's good to know that there are people reading this fic, here's the next chapter:

_Chapter number 4. Back from the dead_

"No I wasn't" Noah answered back, how could she think he'd been dead, but then again he had been shot, and God only knows what that Eve Jacobson girl that locked him up had done to stop people looking for him, but now he had a fair idea.

"Well we all thought you were, you were shot" Dani said softly, "I can't believe it's really you".

"And I can't believe it's really you either" Noah admitted, "I thought I was never going to see another familiar face".

"So what happened exactly, I mean why did..."

"Where was I?"

"Yeah"

"Look I really don't feel like talking about it right now" Noah told her.

"Alright then, look you must be starving, I'm going to take you back to my flat ok?" Dani told him, right now it was in her best interests that he was safe.

"Ok" he agreed, letting her help him up and hold part of his weight by putting his arm around her shoulder.

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Eve hobbled her way back to the shed, Noah must be really hungry by now, not that she cared about him or anything, but she couldn't let him die, not when he could be useful to her.

Touching her side gently she winced in pain, she'd escaped a burning shed, but only just, any more burning and she might not be walking, or even worse, she might be dead. She couldn't believe that she'd let herself fail like that, Sally should have been doing her dirty work by now, and Summer bay should have been paying the consequences for what they did to her Sarah.

She'd never let them get away with it, it was something she'd promised not only herself but the memory of Sarah. Sometimes she'd dream about what things would be like right now if she was still alive, things would be different that's for sure, things would definitely be a lot happier too, she'd be with Sarah, HER Sarah, the only Sarah that could possibly make her as happy as she had been before that night where... well she didn't really want to remember what happened then, she could only do what was right so that she could finally rest in peace. And then, she'd do what she had to to be with her, she'd go to heaven, and things would all be right again.

But right now she had to keep focused on what had to happen before she could be happy, which ment getting that good for nothing Noah to do a few things for her.

As she came closer to her destination she noticed that the tin door was wide open and the chain once held it shut lay broken on the ground. He was gone, her last source of help was gone, she checked the floor of the shed twice over to make sure she wasn't imagining it, but she was right, he was gone.

"Darn it" she yelled, she was going to have to do it all herself; all her plans that were still yet to come, but she'd have to be careful, they all knew who she was, and if she was going to pull this off then she'd need help, someone that they all trusted and when they least expected it, it was going to hit them all hard in the face.

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"Alright here we are" Dani told Noah as she helped him out of the Taxi.

"Wow" Noah's jaw dropped as he looked up the building right to the top, "what has it got like 50 floors or something?"

"No just 30" Dani laughed, "Come one we better get you inside" she said, bringing him through the front door and into the elevator, luckily at this time of day not many people were around, she'd hate to think what kind of questions would be asked if someone was to walk in right about now.

Noah clung tightly onto the rail on the wall of the elevator, he was still trying to get his head around what had happened in the last week. Being locked in that shed had been a nightmare that all seemed like one big blur to him, and he had began to forget what life had been like before it all started. All these buildings and cars seemed strange, even though he knew what they were and how they worked, it was like a good dream and sooner or later he was going to wake up, not that he wanted to wake up, if he had his way he'd stay asleep dreaming of this forever.

"Bing" the Elevator sounded as the little screen above the doors reached the number fifteen and the doors opened.

"Just done here" Dani told him helping him to the right and down the corridor to the last door where she unlocked it and helped him in, "You sit down and I'll get you a drink and some food".

"Thanks for this Dani" he smiled as she walked off to the kitchen.

"Thats ok, It's my pleasure".

"So just one question... where exactly am I?" Noah asked.

"Your in Sydney" she explained, handing him a glass of water. "Is left over pizza ok?"

"Yeah, that sounds great" he answered thankfully as took a mouthful of the water, right now it wasn't just water to him, it was like heaven. "So how is everyone?"

"Well" Dani started, "I wouldn't really know, I moved away from Summer Bay at the end of last year" she sighed as she put a plate of pizza in the microwave before coming back into the lounge room and sitting down next to him.

"Really how come?"

"It's a long story involving a book and Scott" she started.

"Well I'm all ears".

"You remember when I went to jail how there was that gov woman?"

"Yeah"

"Well she asked me to write her book" Dani explained, "And by the time I finished it, I already had a published interested and had contracts for them to take a look at it and everything".

"Wow, that's pretty awesome Dan" He smiled.

"Yeah, Scott didn't seem to think so" she sighed sadly looking down at her hands that were on her lap. "He seemed well... a bit threatened by the guy that was showing me all the contracts, and he seemed to think that I'd cheated on him with this guy Staford, he just didn't trust me, so things went down hill and I moved here" she told him before hopping back up to the kitchen and bringing out the plate of pizza for Noah.

"Thanks, you have no idea how long it's been since I've had good food".

"I think I've got a fair idea" she smiled. "So how are you feeling?"

"Not to bad now that I'm here" Noah smiled, "I still can't believe I'm here though, I keep thinking it's all just a good dream and that I'm going to wake up back in that rotten old shed" he sighed.

"Well your here now and your going to be perfectly safe" Dani told him firmly, promising in the voice that she was going to look after him.

"Thank you so much for this, I don't know what I would of done if you hadn't found me when you did".

"That's ok, oh and before I forget, you can stay in the spare room, it's just down the hall, come on I'll show you" she said getting up.

"You sure you want me to stay?"

"Of course, I'll be offended if you don't" she joked.

"Well I couldn't do that now could I?" Noah laughed following her down the hallway.

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Staford sat with his hands rested under his chin and his arms rested along the table, in front of him was the phone, stairing right back at him, he'd tried calling Dani once already, and she hadn't answered, he just wanted to know that she was safe, it had been half an hour since she should have been here, "I never should of let her walk, anything could of happened to her" her sighed.

He loved her so much, he'd never live with himself if he lost her. How such an amazing girl had come into his life, he'd never know, but he was so grateful for her every second of his life, and he could only hope that she felt the same, well she had to to have agreed to marry him.

Pulled his head back up so he was sitting up straight and looked down at his left hand, stairing at the finger that would hold a ring in another few months or so. The thought of that made him smile, he was going to be married to the most beautiful woman in the world and nothing was going to stop that, well he didn't think so anyway.

"Ding dong" the door bell rang through the big empty mansion making Staford jump, if that was the police saying that something had happened to her he wouldn't be able to cope. Quickly making his way to the door he heard his next door neighbor call out.

"Staf it's just me" Mrs Williams called out as she opened to door and stuck her head in the door.

"Hey Mrs Williams, what can I do for you?" Staford smiled in relief.

"How many times do I have to tell you, call me Judy. Anyway I just noticed that your washing is still on the line, and with the weather the way it is I thought I should warn you that it might be best to take it in before it rains".

"Of course, thank you".

"Your welcome love".

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Dani reentered her apartment to the sound of the shower still running as it was when she ducked out before, probably wasn't a good thing cause of the water restrictions but Noah needed it, he really did smell. She'd had to go out to get Noah some clothes, and a bottle of wine for Staford so he wouldn't suspect anything.

Sighing she placed the bottle on the bench with the bag of cloths next to it and reached for the phone dialing Staford's number into it only to get the answering machine. "Yeah hi Stafy baby it's me, look I'm sorry I'm late but I ran into an old friend in the park and lost track of time so, I'll just go get a bottle of wine and be over there soon ok, bye, love you" she said before hanging up.

"You going somewhere already?" Noah asked as he came out with a towel wrapped around him.

"Um yeah long story, ok there's some clothes and a pair of pajamas in there" she explained handing him the bag, "Now I'll be gone for a few hours, you just make yourself at home ok?"

"Alright" he answered giving her a hug before she walked to the door.

"Oh and if anyone knocks on the door don't answer it, and if your still hungry there's plenty in the fridge".

"Alright, see you" he called out.

"Yeap bye".

_Please review, I'll do my best to continue when I've got at least two._


	5. In laws from heaven

_Chapter number 5. In-laws from heaven_

Staford opened the back door with one hand as he struggled to hold the washing basket in the other before making his way inside and placing the basket full of clean clothes in the laundry before making his way into the kitchen where he noticed the answering machine light was flashing. Pressing the play button he listened to the message, "Yeah hi Stafy baby it's me, look I'm sorry I'm late but I ran into an old friend in the park and lost track of time so, I'll just go get a bottle of wine and be over there soon ok, bye, love you".

He sighed in relief as he hit the delete button and returned to the dinning room where he sat back down at the table, at least she was alright.

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Noah fell back into the couch in Dani's lounge room, it was good to be back in civilization, and to be clean, while he was trapped in the bush he'd started to forget how good it felt, but then again, he'd forgotten what most things felt like, even feeling anything.

Being out there was like this endless nightmare where you started to wonder if there was any point in living or hurting, and so things shut off, and life was just life, nothing special, noting exciting it was just a blur that he learned to live with every day.

He reached out and grabbed the newspaper that sat on the coffee table, reading the date that was printed across the top; Monday 15th of June 2005. It was then that he realized that what had seemed like over a year, hadn't even been a year, yet when he processed in his mind everything Dani had told him about life since he was gone, it seemed like the world had just moved on without the blink of an eye. When he came out of the bush he knew that things would be different, at the same time he had imagined things still being the same. He'd imagined returning to the palace with Dani, Scott and Hayley, being back with the people he loved and continuing married life with his wife as it had been before.

But now that he thought about it, now that he knew clearly that things had changed, he also knew that after everything that had happened, it was right that he wasn't living the life he had been before the shooting. He'd changed, he'd changed as a person, and he didn't know if he could go back, if he did people probably wouldn't be the same around him, not after they realized the old Noah was gone. At the same time he knew that the people he loved had probably changed too, not just their circumstances, but them within themselves.

His marriage would never be the same, for all he knew Hayley could of moved on, just like he would of wanted her to if he was really dead, he always wanted her to be happy, whether it was with him or someone else.

Sighing he placed the news paper down on the table before reaching for the TV remove and turning on the TV.

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"Hey, Staf" Dani called out as she opened the door of Staford's house and came in with her bag under one arm and a bottle of wine in the other.

"Hey come in, I was wondering when you were going to come" he answered happily poking his head around the corner and walking towards her, taking the bottle of wine from her and giving her a kiss that made Dani just wish that she'd stayed home with Noah, not that she let Staford know this, otherwise she probably wouldn't be still engaged to him at this present second, if he knew the way she really felt then some how she knew she would never be welcome here, which as much as she hated to say, she wouldn't be able to live with. Even though she didn't actually love Staford, she knew she couldn't leave him, she'd lose him for good, which was something she didn't want, he was the best friend she had, and he was good for her.

And then there were his parents who she loved, they were the best in-laws she could of ever hoped for, she'd hate for them to not be a part of her life, she needed them, they were like the parents she'd been dreaming for ever since her mum died and her dad got sent to jail earlier that year. She hated remembering that night, her dad had gotten so aggressive with everyone including her mum, he'd hit her a few times, but she kept saying that he'd never really mean to hurt her.

Dani had tried to get her to move out and come stay with her, Staford had even tried too, but by the time she had almost seen sense it was too late. One night after Dani had finished talking to her crying mum on the phone he'd attacked her again, this time killing her.

As far as she was concerned, Rhys wasn't her father anymore, she'd told him what she thought of him, and that was how it had been left. If she ever saw him again she didn't know what she'd do, she just hoped that she'd never live know the answer to that.

Taking her hand Staford lead her through to the dinning room where his parents already were.

"Hello, hello, hello, if it isn't the girl of the hour" Staford's dad Ray greeted her as she came in and sat down.

"Hey" she smiled.

"Lovely to see you again Danielle" Staford's mother Grace smiled sweetly, she was always well mannered and never had anything bad to say about anyone, well not that she had heard anyway, but nether-the-less Dani really like her.

"You too Grace".

"So" Staford started, "shall we eat?"

"Certainly" Ray answered, "I'll give you a hand with the food" he added before following Staford into the Kitchen. "In case I haven't said it enough already" Ray started when they were behind the bench of the kitchen and out of hearing distance of the girls, "you did well with that one son". He said, referring to Dani.

"Yeah I did" Staford smiled looking through the entrance of the dining room to where Dani was sitting talking to his mother.

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_Author note: Sorry that it wasn't that long but I'll try and write more next time, thanks for the reviews, I really appreciate it._

_As usual I won't continue until I've got at least two or more reviews._


	6. Bottling things up

_Chapter number 6. bottling things up_

**Next day, Tuesday, 16th of June 2005**

Noah woke the next day to find himself in civilization just like he had been the night before, it felt good, definitely good, but this time it felt more real and less like a dream, he was really here in Sydney.

Taking a minute to take his surroundings in he smiled, through the covers of the bed and hurried to the door and down the hall way to the sound of a sizzling fry pan and the smell of cooking food.

"Morning" Dani smiled looking over her shoulder as Noah entered before looking back to the fry pan and turning an egg over inside the hot pan.

"Morning" Noah grinned back.

"Bacon and eggs?"

"Yes please" he answered pulling a seat out from the other side of the bench and sitting down.

"So did you sleep well?" Dani asked.

Noah thought for a moment, his answer was no, but he couldn't tell her he was having nightmares, no he just couldn't he was going to have to just take it like a man.

He didn't want to worry her, if she knew what he'd gone through she wouldn't cope with just the thought of it, let alone actually being there and witnessing it, or even worse; having it happen to her. So he simply smiled and only told half the truth, "yeah, it's good to be back in a normal bed again".

"Well I wish I could of said the same, I got in late and couldn't get to sleep until two. I hope I didn't wake you when I was coming in" she told him, sounding slightly apologetic, she knew he needed as much sleep as he could get after being god only knows where, assumed dead for the last nine months.

"Nah don't worry you didn't" Noah assured her making her feel a little better. "So I forgot to ask who's this mystery fiancée of yours?" he asked pointing to Dani's left hand that had a diamond rock that looked like it could weigh at least ten tones.

"Oh" Dani, started, looking down at her wedding finger where the white gold banded diamond ring now sat, "No one you know" she told him before changing the subject, "you want toast too?"

"No thanks" he replied as he watched Dani walk to the other side of the kitchen and pull out a plate before beginning to used the egg lifter to pile the bacon and eggs on it. "So you don't sound too happy about being engaged, is everything ok?" He knew the answer was no, but she was going to have too tell him if he was going to find out what was wrong. Dani Sutherland was a woman who tended to bottle things up, even if hurt still showed on the outside, but then again he could see why she did it now, now that he knew what if felt like to knot want to get the people around you mixed up in your own problems, usually he would of talked to someone about his problems, but for once in his life he felt just like her, he couldn't tell anyone, he'd bottle it up, spare the people around him the pain of trying to understand what he'd been though.

"Yeah of course" she lied, faking a smile before handing him the plate and a knife and fork.

"Come on I know you better than that, has the stresses of planning a wedding got to you already?"

"Yeah something like that" she brushed off the question.

"Yeah you could have had me fooled" Noah laughed sarcastically, "come on what's really going on?"

"Look it's complicated. Now hurry up and eat before it goes cold" she brushed him off quickly.

"Alright, I'll keep out of it" Noah raised his hands in defense. "So how's your parents going?" Noah asked as Dani grabbed a plate, put a fried egg on it and began to walk around to the other side of the bench where Noah was sitting.

"Well there not really going at all" Dani sighed as she sat down, she was going to have to explain, she just knew she would. She closed her eyes for a second and waited for the question, and just as expected, it came.

"What do you mean?" Noah answered, slightly confused.

"Well to cut a long story short" Dani started, sounding stressed, already Noah could tell it wasn't something she really wanted to be going in to detail of. "Basically Mum's dead and Dad's behind bars for killing her" she shot out.

Noah sat in shock for a moment, this was the same Rhys that everyone loved and now he was hearing that he'd killed his own wife? That wasn't right at all, "I'm really sorry Dani" was all he could get out, he still couldn't believe it, it just didn't sound right, but then again, a lot of things didn't sound right.

"Look it's ok, the only person who should be sorry is my dad" she smiled sadly before taking a mouth full of her food. "Oh before I forget, we're going to need to let the police know your still alive-"

"No" Noah shot out quickly, making Dani almost jump out of her seat. Dani was beside herself, she hadn't imagined him reacting so suddenly, but then again he probably went through hell out there, even so she just wished he'd talk to her if he wasn't coping with things the way he wanted to. She'd tried to imagine what someone had wanted with keeping Noah away and making them all think he was dead, but she still only managed to get her brain in hundreds of knots that lead no where.

"Look I'm sorry" Noah apologized, realizing how that had just come out, he'd thought he'd managed to control how hard things were for him, but obviously it wasn't working, he was going to have to open up sooner or later, but for now as far as he was concerned, it could be later, not sooner, "I just don't think I'm up to it right now".

"Ok" Dani said, taking in a deep breath, "but were going to need to do that sooner or later".

"Yeah I know, just not right now, ok?"

"Ok" she agreed, finishing the last of what was on her plate and putting her dishes beside the sink, leaning forward on the side of the bench so she was facing him, "Noah are you sure your oping ok?"

Noah didn't answer, instead he just looked at her and bit his bottom lip, the look on his face giving it all away.

"Noah-"

"Look Dani, I just went through a lot out there, I'll tell you everything sometime, but just not now" he promised, and he wasn't lying ether.

"Alright, but if it gets to much for you, you know I'll be more than happy to listen".

"Yeah I know" he replied softly and greatfully.

"Anyway, I have to go"

"I thought you said you don't have to work on Tuesdays?"

"I don't, but I do have to find a wedding dress before my mother-in-law picks it for me" Dani laughed. "I love the girl and everything, but she's way to excited about her little boy getting married" she sighed, grabbing her coat and bag before heading for the door, "Anyway I'll probably be a while".

"Ok have fun then" Noah called.

"Yeap, bye".

------------------------------------------------

**Three hours later**

"Ok what about this one?" Staford's little sister Stacie asked holding out another gown, she'd offered to help her out today since Dani's other friends were all at work seeing as she was the only one that only had to work four days a week.

Not that it mattered who came with her, a wedding dress was a wedding dress it wasn't going to make the engagement to Staford any easier even if it was the most beautiful and expensive dress in the whole entire world, and whether she liked it or not, until she got the guts to tell Staford the wedding was off she was going to have to act like it was what she wanted...

unless of course she made him want to break it off with her..

which surprisingly she had been starting to seriously consider as an option. That way he'd have to let her down gently like he would of course considering he was Staford. Maybe they might even be able to go back to being friends again if she was lucky, well that really depended whether he still liked her at all after she had made him break things off with her.

Or maybe she could just escape the country and never be seen again, then she wouldn't have to deal with it at all, now that would be nice she thought, but then again there was the fact that she couldn't live without Staford in her life, he kept her sane, he was the one that got her though things, and he was the one that seemed to be able to make her see sense in any situation, he knew everything about her and knew exactly how to get though to her.

All that made things harder to decide, he was good for her, she just wished she could love him.

"Earth to Dani" Stacie said slowly waving her hands in front of her face, "were you even listening to me?"

"Sorry" Dani apologized.

"That's ok, what about this one" she repeated holding the dress up again.

"I don't know" Dani sighed looking down at the floor for a second before looking back up again at the dress, "Why is there too many to chose from? It doesn't make things any easier for people" she winged.

"Ok you look like you've had enough" Stacie declared, handing the dress to the sails assistant and helping Dani up leaning down to grab Dani's bag and put it in her hand. "You need Coffee, and you need it now".

"No I think I need a shop assistant who actually knows the difference between silk and organza" she grumbled as they were out the door and out of the hearing range of the shop assistant who was now hanging up the dress and moving on to 'try' and help the next frustrated bride to be who was already ripping her hair out as it was even without another push.

At all five different shops they'd been to so far they'd ended up walking out, none of the people that were supposed to be helping them were actually helping, if anything they were making things more frustrating than it already was.

"Yeah that would probably help too... Oh my gosh" Stacie stopped in her tracks as they reached the next shop window in the shopping center.

"What?" Dani asked clueless like she'd just woken up.

"That one" Stacie told her pointing to the only white dress in the window.

Dani turned around and looked where she was pointing, "Ok now your talking" she smiled, definitely more on track now. "Ok what are we waiting for, that dress is mine" she declared grabbing Stacie's hand and dragging her into the shop.

_Sorry much isn't happening at the moment, but I'll write more when I've got two or more reviews_


	7. Going crazy

_Chapter number 7. Going crazy_

Dani scuffled her ways through the door with two shopping bags in one hand and her hand bag and keys in the other. After finding her dress, Stacie had insisted that they found shoes as well, "you can't walk away and not have your dress with you to match the shoes too" she had insisted, but at least that ment one more thing for this unwanted wedding was out of the way.

Sighing she kicked her shoes off beside the door, put her hand bag on a hook and chucked her keys in it before making her way through to the kitchen where she carelessly chucked her two shopping bags down on the bench.

"Rough day huh?" Noah's voice came from where he was sitting on the lounge chair.

"Yeah just a bit" Dani answered running her fingers through her hair at the top of her head before taking a seat next to him. "you ok?" she asked when she realized how stressed he was looking.

"Um yeah" he started... "Kinda... ok no" he finally admitted, in some ways he looked guilty of something, but at the same time he looked scared.

"Spill" Dani ordered.

"I've been doing some thinking about what you said about going to the police..." he began before trailing off slightly.

"And?" Dani encouraged him, waiting for what he was about to say.

"And... even though I don't want to I think it would be a good idea to go as soon as possible" he spat out in one go before he backed out of the idea, "but on one condition, wait no two".

"Which is?"

"I don't want to face anyone in Summer bay just yet, I don't think I could handle it right now".

"I can understand that" Dani told him giving him a supportive smile, "and the other condition?"

"Well" he said taking in a deep breath, "I haven't been completely honest with you Dani".

"What do you mean?" Dani asked feeling confused.

"You know how I said I'm fine?"

"Yeah".

"Well I'm not" he told her, telling the truth about his ordeal for the first time, "but you probably already figured that" he added chuckling slightly from the nerves. "That's where my other condition comes in, I don't know whether I'll be able to face the cops by myself, so I was wondering if you'd be there two?"

"Of course" she promised, "of course I will".

"Thank you".

"For what?"

"For everything, Dani you've been so good to me, I don't know what I would of done if-"

"And you don't need to even think about what you would of done" Dani cut him off, "your safe now and that's the important thing, ok?"

"Yeah I guess your right" Noah agreed, "but you've still been great though, thank you".

"Your welcome" Dani smiled.

"So how about I give Peter a call, he works in the city now so you wouldn't have to go back to the bay where everyone else is" Dani suggested.

"Yeah sounds good" Noah answered, "but first how did your shopping trip go?"

"Pretty good actually, I've got a dress and shoes so that's the majority of it out of the way" Dani explained.

"Well give us a look at the dress then" he encouraged her.

"Oh alright" Dani gave in getting up and walking over to the bench where the shopping bags were. She pulled out the wedding dress, it had been the last one left in her size so it had to be lucky.

"Looks beautiful" Noah grinned as she held it up against her and turned it round on the hanger to show him the back, she'd definitely look gorgeous in it, she always did in a white dress. But then again Dani Sutherland looked gorgeous in anything, well at least he'd always thought so. "He's definitely a very lucky guy whether he knows it or not".

"Thank you" she smiled before draping the dress across the back of one of the bench stools, "Anyway I better give Peter a call".

------------------------------------------------

Later that night Dani closed her book and placed it on the coffee table before hopping up and turning the light out, she'd lost track of time after getting off the phone to Staford, he'd wanted to catch up with her since he hadn't seen her since the night before, but she'd made an excuse saying that she'd been too tired from shopping with his sister, which he had believed, he knew how tiring Stacie could be sometimes.

She made her way down the hallway past Noah's room and towards the door of her own room, but then she stopped when she heard Noah speak. She knew he wasn't talking to her, but there wasn't anyone else to talk to in here, well she didn't think there was.

"Noah?" she asked opening the door to find the lamp on and him asleep. 'That's weird' Dani thought to herself, 'I'm sure I heard him talk'.

Thinking nothing of it she stepped into the room reaching out to turn the lamp off, why he'd left it on she didn't know, it wasn't like him to leave things on around the place. "Good night Noah" she whispered before walking back to the door.

"Tell me what you did to them!" Noah gasped, turning over onto his other side.

"You ok?" Dani asked shocked, turning back around to find him once again peacefully asleep, accept this time he was lying on the other side of the bed, well at least she thought he was in a different position to what he had been before she turned around, but then again he probably wasn't.

"God you've really gone crazy now girl" she muttered to herself, Staford had always warned her that one day she's turn herself crazy from staying up to early hours of the morning reading, looks like he had been right. Shaking her head she left the room, closing the door behind her and going straight to bed.

_Author note: I'll do my best to write more when I've got two or more reviews._


	8. Opening up

_Chapter number 8. Opening up_

Next day, Wednesday the 17th of June

Staford walked into his office, he was early today, for once in his life, most of his co workers had already figured out that if they showed up to meetings fifteen minutes late they would get there about the same time as him.

Pulling out his desk chair he slumped into it, he was still half asleep, well he usually was around this time of morning, he'd be awake as soon as the coffee sunk into his system. He took in a deep breath, placing his elbows on the desk and berrying his face in his hands for a second before taking a good look at the pile of paper work sitting on the desk to the side, now he remembered why he was here an hour early.

Taking a sheet from the top of the pile, he began to read through it before he was interrupted by a knock at the door. "Come in" he groaned, it was too early for clients, and he really wasn't in the mood, just like every morning, which was probably why he normally arrived late.

"Well hello to you too sunshine" a familiar voice came from the door.

"Jeff? What the hell are you doing here?"

------------------------------------------------

"Good morning" Noah's cheerful voice interrupted Dani's thoughts as he came into the lounge room where she was sitting drinking a cup of coffee.

"Morning" Dani grumbled, "someone slept well".

"Yeah and I'm guessing you didn't".

"You read my mind. Oh and um, Peter called, he wants to know if this afternoon is alright?"

"Um" Noah started, it was all coming back to him, he was going to face it, and now there was no backing out of it, not that Peter knew that he was alive, 'I should of kept my stupid mouth shut the other day' Noah cursed inside.

"Earth to Noah" Dani exaggerated, waving her hand in front of his face.

"Yeah" he looked back up at her, so far off in his own world of beating himself up that he'd forgotten what Dani had said before.

"Were you listening to any of that?"

"Sorry" Noah apologized.

"That's alright, what I was saying was that Peter called and wants to know if this afternoon's a good time to give your statement?"

"Um, yeah sure" he lied.

"Noah" Dani started.

"Yeah?"

"Look I know your going to say that your fine, but I know your not, so what's wrong?" she asked sympathetically, letting him know that she only wanted to help.

Noah sighed slowly, she was right, as usual, he wasn't alright, "Look this thing this afternoon is just digging up a lot I thought I was in control of, and that's the truth, honestly".

"Care to share?" she smiled.

Noah just nodded, "If you've got time".

"Of course I do, I don't have to be at work for another hour yet".

"Alright, where do I start?"

"At the beginning's always a good place".

------------------------------------------------

"Jeff, just tell me why your here would you" Staford demanded.

"What is that the best greeting you can do? Jeff joked.

"Look I'm serious alright, you weren't supposed to come back" Staford yelled.

"Yeah love you too mate" Jeff answered sarcastically, he wasn't at all happy now, he at least expected some sort of joy from his 'old friend', but now he knew there was no chance of getting any of that. "I'm staying down town, give me a call some time" he snapped, placing a piece of paper with his phone number on it on the end of Staford's desk.

"Don't bother" Staford shrugged before Jeff left through the door and shut it, he had his reason's for snapping at him, his life had almost become normal in the last year, and now if Jeff didn't leave he'd do something he knew his family wouldn't approve of, he couldn't let himself, not while he was still alive and breathing.

------------------------------------------------

"I remember waking up in a coffin" Noah started, stairing aimlessly at the coffee table that was in front of where he sat next to Dani who was watching him, "and this girl was sitting next to me, she didn't say anything, she just swung something from behind me and knocked me out" he explained.

"So that explains why we all thought you were dead, it must have been someone else's body that was burnt" Dani muttered to herself, just loud enough for Noah to make out what she was saying.

"My guess is as good as yours" Noah sighed, Dani just nodded slightly, waiting to hear what happened next.

"The next thing I remember after that was waking up in a shed, and she was there again, said her name was Eve" he continued before being interrupted by Dani.

"What did she want with you?" she asked, she didn't understand any of this, but then again it was probably because she didn't stick around in town long enough to be a part of the whole Zoe mess that seemed like a repeat of Sarah.

"She was in love with Sarah, she met her at the mental institution that Sarah was sent to... Eve was Sarah's nurse" he finally managed to get out.

"Her nurse? But..." Dani stuttered, "but don't they have rules against relationships in those circumstances?"

"Yeah" Noah huffed, "but that doesn't mean that they get followed, and if know one finds out there's not a whole lot they can do about it. You know what it's like, any system has it's faults, no matter how flawless it may seem".

"Yeah I guess so" she agreed, "so what happened after that?"

Noah paused for a minute, a lot had happened while he was in that shed, to be honest it was blurred enough that he had to stop and think about what actually did happen. although the times in the shed were a faint memory, the times he was out of the shed were as clear as day, that might have had something to do with the fact that there weren't many of them, but what ever the reason they were the hardest times out of the whole ordeal.

Dani could see the expression on Noah's face, it was getting harder for him again, he wasn't crying, but he looked like he needed to. With out thinking Dani reached her hand out, placing it on Noah's arm gently and giving him a warm smile to remind him that it was alright now, "Just take your time".

Noah just nodded, feeling a little safer now, it was all over, he just wished he could get that through his head so that he could just remember it without it being so damn hard.

"She used to..." Noah started before drifting away. "She used to stalk Summer bay, and it wasn't all her work".

"What do you mean?"

"She made me..."

_Flashback:_

"_Do it Noah, or else I'll do it and make it a lot worse for all your friends" she threatened grabbing the shoulder of his shirt, her control clearly over him._

"_But why me?" he asked with a chill in his voice, he really didn't see why she needed him to do all this._

"_Look I don't need to say it again, just go over there and cut the green wire in the engine, got it?" she ordered, letting o of her grasp on his shirt, letting him fall to the ground in a heap. She moved towards the chicken wire fence of the small air strip in the darkness, turning back to look directly at him where he still lay on the grass. "Come on get up, are you completely useless of something?" she growled._

_Unwillingly he got up and followed her to where she stood looking out to the plane that could just be seen in the middle of the runway._

"_Now you know what you have to do" she told him handing him a torch and pliers, "no stuff-ups alright?"_

"_Yeah I got it" Noah sighed walking towards the gate as she unlatched the lock and pushed the thing open for him to get through._

"_Oh and Lawson don't try anything stupid" she warned, "or I promise you it will be the last thing you ever do"._

_Swallowing hard he froze on the spot, scared of what he was about to do, but at the same time he was scared of what would happen if he didn't do it. That was the thing, she managed to find a way to make him do everything at just the twist of her finger, she had him right where she wanted him, and there was no getting out._

"_Go on then" she pushed him, poking her finger into his back, forcing him to unwillingly take another step, "Go" she yelled, pushing him one more time before he continued walking._

_He moved one foot after the other, each step it's own struggle of choice. He could feel the pliers in his left hands, they weren't small, they were actually quite large, old and rusty._

_He approached the plane, it was only a small one, probably only big enough for a few people or more. On the side of the plane was a small step ladder. He moved closer to it, turning on the torch that sat in his right hand so that he could get a better look at it._

_Using the rail he helped himself get to the third step before placing the pliers on the forth step and using his left hand to open the engine. There were wires everywhere, ranging in different colours, some the same some different, but there was only one green one, just like she had told him earlier. Placing the torch down so that the light shone up, he used both hands to grab the handles of the pliers, forcing them open and back closed again, slicing the plastic coated wire straight trought the middle in one clean cut._

_Then taking a deep breath he put the pliers down and closed the engine again, not leaving any evidence behind._

_End of flash back._

"So she made you do all that when it could have been easier just to do it herself?" Dani asked curiously.

"Yeah, don't ask me why" he answered, smiling slightly, it was definitely a lot easier to cope with things when they were all out in the open, in fact he didn't even know why he hadn't done it sooner.

_Please review, I'll do my best to update when I've got at least two or more._


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